The horizontal line represents the person’s life.1731 - born1785 - “A Treatise on ancient Armour and Weapons”; “A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue”1785 - “A Treatise on ancient Armour and Weapons”; “A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue”1786 - “Military
Antiquities being a History of the English Army from the
Conquest to the present Time”; “The History of Dover Castle, by the rev. William.
Darell”1786 - “Military
Antiquities being a History of the English Army from the
Conquest to the present Time”; “The History of Dover Castle, by the rev. William.
Darell”1788 - “A Provincial Glossary, with a
Collection of local Proverbs and popular Superstitions”; “Rules for drawing Caricatures”1788 - “A Provincial Glossary, with a
Collection of local Proverbs and popular Superstitions”; “Rules for drawing Caricatures”1789 - “Supplement to the Treatise on ancient Armour and Weapons”1769 - died

Grose, Francis

, an eminent English antiquary, was
the son of Mr. Francis Grose, of Richmond, jeweller, who
died in 1769. He was born in 1731, and having a taste
for heraldry and antiquities, his father procured him a place
in the college of arms, which, however, he resigned in
1763. By his father he was left an independent fortune,
which he was not of a disposition to add to, or even to -reserve. He early entered into the Surrey militia, of which
he became adjutant and paymaster; but so much had dissipation taken possession of him, that in a situation which
above all others required attention, he was so careless as
to have for some time (as he used pleasantly to tell) only
two books of accounts, viz. his right and left hand pockets.
In the one he received, and from the other paid; and this
too with a want of circumspection which may be readily
supposed from such a mode of book keeping. His losses
on this occasion roused his latent talents: with a good
classical education he united a fine taste for drawing, which
he now began again to cultivate; and encouraged by his
friends, he undertook the work from which be derived both
profit and reputation: his Views of Antiquities in England
and Wales, which he first began to publish in numbers in
1773, and finished in 1776. The next year he added two
more volumes to his English views, in which he included
the islands of Guernsey and Jersey, which were completed
in 1787. This work, which was executed with accuracy
and elegance, soon became a favourite with the public at
large, as well as with professed antiquaries, from the neatness of the embellishments, and the succinct manner in
which he conveyed his information, and therefore answered
his most sanguine expectations; and, from the time he began it to the end of his life, he continued without intermission to publish various works, generally to the advantage
of his literary reputation, and almost always to the benefit
of his finances. His wit and good-humour were the abundant source of satisfaction to himself and entertainment to
his friends. He visited almost every part of the kingdom,
and was a welcome guest wherever he went. In the summer of 1789 he set out on a tour in Scotland the result
of which he began to communicate to the public in 1790,
in numbers. Before he had concluded this work, he proceeded to Ireland, intending to furnish that kingdom with
views and descriptions of her antiquities, in the same manner he had executed those of Great Britain; but soon after
| his arrival in Dublin, being at the house of Mr. Hone
there, he suddenly was seized at table with an apoplecticfit, on the 6th May 1791, and died immediately. He was
interred in Dublin.

“His literary history,” says a friend, “respectable as
it is, was exceeded by his good-humour, conviviality, and
friendship. Living much abroad, and in the best company
at home, he had the easiest habits of adapting himself to
all tempers; and, being a man of general knowledge, perpetually drew out some conversation that was either useful
to himself, or agreeable to the party. He could observe
upon most things with precision and judgment; but his natural tendency was to humour, in which he excelled both
by the selection of anecdotes and his manner of telling
them: it may be said too, that his figure rather assisted
him, which was in fact the very title-page to a joke. He
had neither the pride nor malignity of authorship: he felt
the independency of his own talents, and was satisfied with
them, without degrading others. His friendships were of
the same cast; constant and sincere, overlooking some
faults, and seeking out greater virtues.”

Grose, to a stranger, says Mr. Noble, might have been
supposed not a surname, but one selected as significant of
his figure: which was more of the form of Sancho Panca
than Falstaff; but he partook of the properties of both.
He was as low, squat, and rotund as the former, and not
less a sloven; equalled him too in his love of sleep, and
nearly so in his proverbs. In his wit he was a Falstaff. He
was the butt for other men to shoot at, but it always rebounded with a double force. He could eat with Sancho,
and drink with the knight. In simplicity, probity, and a
compassionate heart, he was wholly of the Panca breed;
his jocularity could have pleased a prince. In the “St.
James’s Evening Post,” the following was proposed as an
epitaph for him:

Mr. Grose married Catherine, daughter of Mr. Jordan,
of Canterbury, by whom he had two sons and five daughters;
1. Francis Grose, of Croydon-Crook in Surrey, esq. a colonel in the army, governor in 1790 of New South Wales;
2. Onslow Grose, esq. captain of the pioneer corps on the
| Madras establishment, who died very lately in India; and
four daughters, one of whom married to Anketel Singleton,
esq. lieutenant-governor of Landguard-Fort, in Essex.

His works are, 1. “The Antiquities of England and
Wales,” 8 vols. 4to and 8vo. 2. “The Antiquities of
Scotland,” 2 vols. 4to and 8vo. 3. “The Antiquities of
Ireland,” 2 vols. 4to and 8vo, a posthumous work, edited
by Mr. Ledwich, 1794. 4. “A Treatise on ancient Armour and Weapons,” 1785, 4to. 5. “A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue,” 1785, 8vo. 6. “Military
Antiquities being a History of the English Army from the
Conquest to the present Time,” 1786, 1788, 2 vols. 4to.
7. “The History of Dover Castle, by the rev. William.
Darell,” 1786, 4to. 8. “A Provincial Glossary, with a
Collection of local Proverbs and popular Superstitions,”
1788, 8vo. 9. “Rules for drawing Caricatures,” 1788,
8vo. 10. “Supplement to the Treatise on ancient Armour and Weapons,” 1789, 4to. 11. “A guide to Health,
Beauty, Honour, and Riches,” being a collection of humorous advertisements, pointing out the means to obtain
those blessings with a suitable introductory preface, 8vo.
12. “The Olio, a collection of Essays,” jests, small pieces
of poetry, all highly characteristic of Mr. Grose, but the
collection was not made by him, and we suspect all the
contents are not from his pen; 1793, 8vo. 1

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